Intelligent face identification

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for enhancing customer service are disclosed. The system can perform operations including detecting individuals and performing facial recognition on the individuals using visitor profiles stored by a local database. The operations can further include determining known visitors and unknown visitors among the individuals. The operations can further include generating new visitor profiles for the unknown visitors, obtaining identity information for the unknown visitors, and associating the identity information of the unknown visitors with the new visitor profiles. The operations can further include accessing identify information of the known visitors, obtaining personalized information for the known visitors from a central database, and providing the personalized information to the known visitors. The operations can further include updating the existing visitor profiles and new visitor profiles based on actions of the known visitors and actions of the unknown visitors and providing the updated visitor profiles to the central database.

BACKGROUND

In the past, retailers, merchants, and other such shopkeepers frequentlyhad a personal relationship with the individuals that visited theirpremises, i.e., their customers. As a result, a shopkeeper typicallyknew a customer's name and other personal information, such as theirage, address, family, hobbies, career, important dates (e.g.,anniversaries, birthdays, etc.) and personal preferences. The shopkeepercould use the customer's personal information to cater to the customerand to promote sales of items the customer might desire to purchase. Theshopkeeper may also have been familiar with the customer's character andreputation (e.g., credit history, honesty, and criminal history). Basedon such knowledge, the shopkeeper could determine whether to offer thecustomer certain marketing, coupons, and credit benefits. However, withthe ever-increasing size, transient nature, and density of populations,shopkeepers now often do not recognize regular customers, much less knowtheir names and personal information. Consequently, shopkeepers cannottake advantage of such information during interactions with customers.Thus, there is a need to improve the ability of retailers, merchants,and other such shopkeepers to identify customers and access theirpersonal information to improve customer interactions.

SUMMARY

Implementations consistent with the present disclosure provide a systemfor enhancing customer service. The system can include an image sensor,a local visitor profile database, and an input/output device. The systemcan also include a processor connected to the image sensor, the localvisitor profile database, and the input/output device. The system canfurther include a computer-readable data storage device, connected tothe processor and storing program instructions. The programinstructions, when executed by the processor, can control the system toperform operations including detecting individuals at a location usingthe image sensor. The operations can also include performing facialrecognition on the individuals using visitor profiles stored by thelocal visitor profile database. The operations can further includedetermining, based on the facial recognition, known visitors and unknownvisitors among the individuals. The operations can further includegenerating new visitor profiles for the unknown visitors. The operationscan further include obtaining identity information for the unknownvisitors using the input/output device. The operations can furtherinclude associating the identity information of the unknown visitorswith the new visitor profiles. The operations can further includeaccessing identify information of the known visitors based on thevisitor profiles stored by the local visitor profile database. Theoperations can further include obtaining personalized information forthe known visitors from a central profile database based on the identifyinformation of the known visitors. The operations can further includeproviding the personalized information to the known visitors using theinput/output device. The operations can further include updating theexisting visitor profiles and new visitor profiles based on actions ofthe known visitors in the area and actions of the unknown visitors inthe area. The operations can further include providing the updatedvisitor profiles to the central computing system.

Additionally, implementations consistent with the present disclosureprovide a method for enhancing customer service. The method can includemonitoring a predefined area using image sensors. The method can alsoinclude detecting individuals within the predefined area using the imagesensors. The method can further include identifying known visitors usingfacial recognition based on existing visitor profiles stored by a localvisitor profile database. The method can further include identifyingunknown visitors using the facial recognition based on an absence of anycorresponding visitor profile stored by the local visitor profiledatabase. The method can further include obtaining identity informationof the unknown visitors using an input/output device. The method canfurther include generating new visitor profiles of the unknown visitorsin the local visitor profile database using the identity information ofthe unknown visitors. The method can further include associating theidentity information of the unknown visitors with the new visitorprofiles. The method can further include obtaining personalizedinformation for the known visitors from a central profile database basedon the identity information of the known visitors. The method canfurther include providing the personalized information to the knownvisitors using the input/output device. The method can further includecreating updated visitor profiles by updating the existing visitorprofiles and the new visitor profiles based on actions of the knownvisitors in the area and the unknown visitors in the area. The methodcan further include providing the updated visitor profiles to thecentral computing system.

Moreover, implementations consistent with the present disclosure providea system for enhancing customer service. The system can include clientcomputer systems at locations separate from each other. The clientcomputer systems can include one or more image sensors, facialrecognition systems, input/output devices, and local visitor profiledatabases. The system can also include a central computing systemcommunicatively linked to the plurality of client computer systems andincluding a central profile database. The client computing systems canperform operations including detecting individuals at the respectivelocations. The operations of the client computing system can alsoinclude performing facial recognition on the individuals using visitorprofiles locally respectively stored at the client computing systems.The operations of the client computing system can further includedetermining known visitors and unknown visitors using the facialrecognition systems. The operations of the client computing system canfurther include determining identity information of the known visitorsbased on existing visitor profiles locally stored at the clientcomputing systems. The operations of the client computing system canfurther include obtaining identity information of the unknown visitorsat the respective locations using the respective input/output devices.The operations of the client computing system can further includegenerating new visitor profiles in the respective local visitor profiledatabases using the identity information of the unknown visitors. Theoperations of the client computing system can further include creatingupdated visitor profiles by updating the existing visitor profiles andnew visitor profiles based on actions of the individuals at therespective locations. The operations of the client computing system canalso include providing the updated visitor profiles to the centralcomputing system. The central computing system can perform operationsincluding receiving the updated visitor profiles from the plurality ofremote computing systems. The updated visitor profiles can include theexisting visitor profiles and new visitor profiles. The operations ofthe central computing system can further include updating the centralprofile database with the updated visitor profiles. The operations ofthe central computing system can also include updating the respectivelocal visitor profile databases of the client computing systems with theupdated visitor profiles of the central profile database.

DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram illustrating an example of an environmentfor implementing systems and processes in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a system block diagram illustrating an example of a centralcomputing system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a system block diagram illustrating an example of a remotecomputing system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a flow block diagram illustrating an example of a processfor performing image recognition processing by a remote computingsystem, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a flow block diagram illustrating an example of a processfor updating image recognition processing information of a number ofremote computing systems by a central computing system, in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a swim-lane flow diagram illustrating an example of aprocess for performing image recognition among a number of remotecomputing systems, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is generally related to facial recognitioninformation processing, and, more specifically, to methods, apparatuses,and computer program products for processing facial recognitioninformation obtained from different remote locations. Implementations ofthe methods, apparatuses, and computer program products disclosed hereinprovide for coordination of profiles that include facial recognitioninformation among a number of remote computing systems. Each of theremote computing systems can independently and locally perform facialrecognition without using any remote or centralized processing of thefacial recognition information. As such, implementations consistent withthe present disclosure provide a particular, technically advantageouscomputer architecture that decentralizes processing of the facialrecognition information. This architecture reduces network bandwidthused in facial recognition processing by minimizing an amount ofinformation transferred between the various remote computing systems anda central computing system. The architecture also reduces processingdemands (e.g., processor cycles, capacity, and energy) placed on thecentral computing system by the remote computing systems, especially inimplementations including large numbers of remote computing systemsmonitoring larger numbers of individuals.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram illustrating an example of an environment100 for implementing systems and processes in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure. The environment 100 can include a centralcomputing system 105 and a number of remote computing systems 109 (e.g.,109A . . . 109C), and remote locations 111 (e.g., 111A . . . 111C).Additionally, the environment 100 can include one or more communicationschannels 117 (e.g., wired or wireless communication links) and one ormore networks 119 (e.g., local area networks, wide area networks, mobilecommunications networks, and the Internet) communicatively andoperatively linking the central computing system 105 with remotecomputing systems 109.

The remote locations 111 can be areas occupied or visited by individuals115 (e.g., individuals 115A1 . . . 115C3). In some implementations, theremote locations 111 can be commercial spaces, such as a retail store, afinancial institution, a service center, or the like. Additionally, theremote locations 111 can be staffed by one or more merchants,shopkeepers, service clerks, or other such customer servicerepresentatives 116 (e.g., customer service representatives 116A . . .116C).

The remote computing systems 109 can be one or more general-purpose orapplication-specific computer systems configured to identify theindividuals 115 in the locations 111 using pre-stored visitor profiles137, to update such visitor profiles 137, and to provide the updatedvisitor profiles 137 to the central computing system 105, and todistribute the visitor profiles 137 among the remote computing systems109. In implementations the remote computing systems 109 can includeclient computers 131, local profile databases 135, one or more userinput/output (I/O) devices 139, and one or more image sensors 143. Theclient computer 131 can be operatively and communicatively connected tothe user I/O device 139, the local profile database 135, and the imagesensor 143. In implementations, the client computer 131 is or includes aspecial-purpose system incorporating the image sensors 143 and isconfigured to perform facial recognition using techniques known in theart. For example, the image recognition can be performed by AWSDeepLens™ learning-enabled cameras from Amazon Web Services, Inc. ofSeattle, Wash.

The local profile database 135 may store numerous visitor profiles 137that contain data describing or representing visitors to the locations111. For example, the visitor profiles 137 may include records includingindividual's 115 names and facial recognition information, in additionto other information. In some implementations, the visitor profiles 137can include account information, previous offers, and historicalactivities and transactions.

The user I/O device 139 can be or include any device that enables theindividuals 115 or the customer service representatives 116 or tointeract with the client computer 131. The user I/O device 139 maycomprise, for example, a touchscreen display, pointer device, keyboard,speech recognition hardware and capabilities, etc. The image sensors 143can include cameras (still or video) that capture images of or otherwisedetect the individuals 115 in certain areas (e.g., the areas used bycustomers) of the locations 111.

The central computing system 105 can include a central computing device121 and a central profile database 125. The central profile database 125may comprise one or more information archives that stores visitorprofiles 137 of individuals 115 that have previously visited one or moreof the locations 111 (i.e., known visitors). The visitor profiles 137can include, for example, facial recognition information (e.g., facialsignature data) for recognizing and identifying particular individuals115. Additionally, the visitor profiles 137 can include accountinformation, demographic information, purchase history information, andaccount history information. etc. of the individuals 115

The central computing device 121 can be one or more general-purpose orapplication-specific computer systems configured to function as aninformation hub between the central computing system 105 and the remotecomputing systems 109. The central computing system 105 can performvarious functions for managing visitor profiles 137 shared between theremote computing systems 109, such as storing and sharing informationstored in the central profile database 125. Additionally, the centralcomputing system 105 can provide various functions and services to theremote computing systems 109. For example, in response to, as part of,or in association with a transaction by individuals 115 at remotecomputing systems 109, the central computing system 105 can providepersonalized information 141 to the remote computing systems 109. Thepersonalized information 141 can be information stored in associationwith account information of the individuals 115, which may correspondwith visitor profiles 137. The personalized information 141 can beinformation obtained based on the visitor profile and account of theindividual 115 (e.g., account history information, purchase historyinformation, marketing information, credit information, trustinformation, benefit information, perk information, etc.) for aparticular visiting individual 115A1 who is involved in a transaction atthe I/O device 139 of the remote computing system 109A) Some or all ofthe personalized information 141 can also be obtained from a third-partyprovider (e.g., a credit tracking service, a criminal records service,or an advertising service).

In a non-limiting example consistent with some implementationsconsistent with the present disclosure, the locations 111 are retailspaces, such as banks, that are monitored by their respective remotecomputing systems 109. Using the image sensor(s) 143, a remote computingsystem 109A can detect the individuals 115A1 . . . 115A3 in the location111A. Some of the individuals 115, such as 115A1 and 115A2, can be known(e.g., previously identified) visitors of the bank, and some of theindividuals 115A, such as individual 115A3 may not be known visitors ofthe bank. For instance, the individual 115A3 may be a new visitor (e.g.,a first-time visitor or new customer) of the bank. Using facialrecognition of images obtained by the sensors 143, the remote computingsystem 109A can attempt to identify each of the individuals 115A in thelocation 111A based on the visitor profiles 137 (e.g., using facialsignature data from the profiles 137) stored in local profile database135, where the visitor profiles 137 are respectively associated with theknown individuals among the individuals 115A. In accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure, the facial recognition processing isperformed entirely by the remote computing system 109A (e.g., usingclient computer 131) solely based on the visitor profiles 137 pre-storedin the local profile database 135 of the remote computing system 109Afor remote location 111A. As such, the remote computing system 109A canindependently identify known visitors among the individuals 115A1 . . .115A3 at the location 111A. For example, by accessing an existingvisitor profile 137 stored in the local profile database 135, the remotecomputing system 109A can obtain information describing or representingthe identity of the known visitors. Additionally, for the individuals115A1 . . . 115A3 that the image recognition cannot identify, such as anunknown visitor 115A3, the remote computing system 109A can tag orclassify them as unknown visitors and generate a new visitor profile forthe unknown visitor 115A3 and store it in the visitor profiles 137 ofthe local profile database 135. Generating a new visitor profile 137 caninclude capturing unique facial features (e.g., facial signature data)using the image sensors 143 and storing such facial-recognitioninformation in association with a temporary visitor or customeridentification (e.g., an alphabetic, numeric, or alphanumeric code).

Additionally, using the image sensors 143, the remote computing system109A can track, determine, and record information representing theactions of the individuals 115A (including the existing and unknownvisitors) in the location 111A. Actions can be or include, for example,foot traffic patterns, which may be represented by information such as atime of entering the location 111A, an amount of time in the location111A, a time of departing the location 111A, and the like. The actionscan also include individuals 115 interacting with goods and displays atthe location 111A, which may be represented by information describingwhether or not an individual 115A1 physically picked up a merchandiseitem and an identity of that merchandise item. Additionally, the actionscan include transactions with the customer service representative 116(e.g., a cashier), the I/O device 139, an automated teller machine, aretail-checkout system, an information kiosk, or the like. Further, theactions can include security events, such as detecting shoplifting orleaving unattended packages. In some instances, the remote computingsystem 109 can obtain identity information for the unknown visitorsamong the individuals 115A currently in the location 111A through theactions taken by the unknown visitors, such as those described above.For example, the remote computing system 109A may obtain the identity ofthe unknown visitor 115A3 when the unknown visitor 115A3 providespersonal identification information during an interaction with anautomated teller machine (“ATM”) or with a customer servicerepresentative 116 that is operating an input/output device 139 of theremote computing system 109A. The obtained identity information of theunknown visitor 115A3 can be combined with the corresponding new visitorprofile so as to provide a correspondence between the identityinformation and the facial recognition information.

The remote computing system 109A can update the new visitor profiles andsimilarly update the existing visitor profiles, with informationobtained from the actions and interactions of the individuals 115A inthe remote locations 111A. Periodically (e.g., hourly or daily, or everyfew days), the remote computing systems 109 can send the updated visitorprofiles 137 to the central computing system 105, which can use theupdated visitor profiles 137 to update its copies in the central profiledatabase 125. Additionally, the central computing system 105 canperiodically (e.g., daily) update the local profile databases 135 of theremote computing systems 109 with the copies of the visitor profiles 137stored by the central profile database 125. Additionally, in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure, the central computing system 105can be selectively triggered to update the local profile database 135.For example, the remote computing system 109A provides (e.g., uploads)new or updated visitor profiles 137 to the central computing system 105,the remote computing system 109A can trigger (e.g., by sending anotification message) to the other remote computing systems 109B and109C that informs them there is new changes in the central database 125.The remote computing systems 109B and 109C, in response to the trigger,may synchronize their local profile databases 135B and 135C by obtaining(e.g., downloading) the new or updated visitor profiles 137 from thecentral computing system 105.

FIG. 2 shows a system block diagram illustrating an example of a centralcomputing system 105 in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure, which can be the same or similar to that described above.The central computing system 105 can include a computing device 205,operatively and communicatively connected to an I/O device 209, and astorage system 213. The I/O device 209 can include any device thatenables an individual to interact with the computing device 205 (e.g., auser interface device) and/or any device that enables the computingdevice 205 to communicate with one or more other computing devices usingany type of communications link. The I/O device 209 can be or include,for example, a touchscreen display, pointer device, keyboard, etc. Thestorage system 213 may comprise a computer-readable, non-volatilehardware storage device that stores information and programinstructions. For example, the storage system 213 may comprise one ormore flash drives and/or hard disk drives.

In embodiments, the computing device 205 includes one or more processors239 (e.g., microprocessor, microchip, or application-specific integratedcircuit), one or more memory devices 241 (e.g., RAM and ROM), one ormore I/O interfaces 243, and one or more network interfaces 245. Thememory device 241 can include a local memory (e.g., a random-accessmemory and a cache memory) employed during execution of programinstructions. Additionally, the computing device 205 can include one ormore one data communication channels 232 (e.g., a data bus) by which itcommunicates with the I/O devices 209 and the storage system 213.

The processor 239 executes computer program instructions (e.g., anoperating system and/or application programs), which can be stored inthe memory device 241 and/or the storage system 213. The computerprogram instructions can include a profile management module 251 and apersonalization module 253. The profile management module 251 cancontrol, manage, update, and distribute visitor profiles 137, inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The personalizationmodule 253 can manage personalization information 141 and provide it tothe remote computing systems 109, for example, in response to request.

It is noted that the central computing system 105 may comprise anygeneral-purpose computing article of manufacture capable of executingcomputer program instructions installed thereon (e.g., a personalcomputer, a server, etc.). However, the central computing system 105 isonly representative of various possible equivalent computing devicesthat can perform the processes described herein. To this extent, inimplementations, the functionality provided by the central computingsystem 105 may comprise any combination of general and/or specificpurpose hardware and/or computer program instructions. In eachimplementation, the program instructions and hardware can be createdusing standard programming and engineering techniques, respectively.

FIG. 3 shows a system block diagram illustrating an example of a remotecomputing system 109 in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure, which can be the same or similar to those described above(e.g., remote computing systems 109A . . . 109C). The remote computingsystem 109 can include a client computing 131 operatively andcommunicatively connected to an I/O device 139, one or more imagesensors 143, and a storage system 335. The client computing 131, the I/Odevice 139, and the image sensors 143 can be the same or similar tothose previously described herein. The storage system 335 may comprise acomputer-readable, non-volatile hardware storage device that storesinformation and program instructions. For example, the storage system335 may comprise one or more flash drives and/or hard disk drives. Thestorage system 335 can store a local profile database 135, which canalso be the same or similar to that previously described.

In embodiments, the client computer 131 includes one or more processors339 (e.g., microprocessor, microchip, or application-specific integratedcircuit), one or more memory devices 341 (e.g., RAM and ROM), one ormore I/O interfaces 343, and one or more network interfaces 345. Thememory device 341 can include a local memory (e.g., a random-accessmemory and a cache memory) employed during execution of programinstructions. Additionally, the client computer 131 can include one ormore one data communication channels 332 (e.g., a data bus) by which itcommunicates with the image sensor system 143 and I/O device 139 and thestorage system 335.

The processor 339 executes computer program instructions (e.g., anoperating system and/or application programs), which can be stored inthe memory device 341 and/or the storage system 335. The processor 339can also execute computer program instructions of facial recognitionmodule 351 and profile module 355.

It is noted that the client computer 131 may comprise anygeneral-purpose computing article of manufacture capable of executingcomputer program instructions installed thereon (e.g., a personalcomputer, a server, etc.). However, the client computer 131 is onlyrepresentative of various possible equivalent computing devices that canperform the processes described herein. To this extent, inimplementations, the functionality provided by the client computer 131may comprise any combination of general and/or specific purpose hardwareand/or computer program instructions. In each implementation, theprogram instructions and hardware can be created using standardprogramming and engineering techniques, respectively.

The flow diagram in FIGS. 4-6 illustrate examples of the functionalityand operations of possible implementations of systems, methods, andcomputer program products according to various implementationsconsistent with the present disclosure. In various implementations, eachblock in the flow diagrams of FIGS. 4-6 can represent a module, segment,or portion of program instructions, which includes one or more computerexecutable instructions for implementing the illustrated functions andoperations. In some alternative implementations, the functions and/oroperations illustrated in a particular block of the flow diagram canoccur out of the order shown in FIGS. 4-6. For example, two blocks shownin succession can be executed substantially concurrently, or the blockscan sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theflow diagrams and combinations of blocks can be implemented by specialpurpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions oracts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

FIG. 4 shows a flow block diagram illustrating an example of a process400 for performing image recognition processing by remote computingsystems, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At 405, aremote computing system (e.g., remote computing systems 109) can monitorone or more areas of a remote location (e.g., predefined areas of thelocations 111, such as areas to which customers have access) using theimage sensors (e.g., image sensors 143). For example, the locations 111can be a bank branch offices or other retail locations surveilled by oneor more video cameras. In some implementations, the video cameras areembodied as one or more AWS DeepLens units specially configured foridentifying people (e.g., individuals 115) using facial recognition. At409, the remote computing system can detect individuals in the areasmonitored at 405. For example, the individuals can be visitors to a bankbranch who are in the customer waiting area. At 413, the remotecomputing system can perform facial recognition on the individualsdetected at 409 using locally-stored visitor profiles (e.g., facialrecognition information from visitor profiles 137) stored by the localprofile database (e.g., local profile database 135). At 417 the remotecomputing system can identify, categorize or otherwise determine, basedon the facial recognition performed at 413, known visitors and unknownvisitors among the individuals detected at 409. In some implementations,this may include identifying employees of the business at the location111, and categorizing them as non-visitors. At 421, the remote computingsystem generates new visitor profiles for the unknown visitors. Forexample, individuals having a profile pre-stored in the local profiledatabase can be deemed, categorized, or identified as known visitors andindividuals lacking any profile in the local profile database can bedeemed, categorized, or identified as unknown visitors. At 425, theremote computing system can obtain identity information (or identitiesfor short) for the unknown visitors determined at 417 using the one ormore input/output devices. For example, the remote computing system 109can obtain identity information for the new visitors when they interactwith an automated teller machine or a cashier system; for instance, whenthey input or provide name, address, and/or credit card information, orwhen they swipe a bank card or credit card that identifies them.

At 429, the remote computing system can determine identities of theknown visitors by accessing their identity information from the visitorprofiles stored by the local profile database, which stores the facialrecognition information in association with the identity information foreach known visitor. At 433, the remote computing system can obtainpersonalized information (e.g., personalized information 141) for theknown visitors from a central profile database (e.g., central profiledatabase 125) based on the identity information of the known visitors.For example, an information hub (e.g., central computing system 105) canprovide personalization information for particular individuals to thelocal device based on the identity information of the individualobtained at 429. In some implementations, the information hub system mayuse the identity information (e.g., a visitor's name) to look up orindex to the personalization information that it has stored inassociation with that identity information. At 437, the remote computingsystem can provide the personalized information to the one or moreinput/output devices. For example, the remote computing system maydisplay the personalized information to the individual (e.g., individual115A2) and/or to a customer service representative (e.g., customerservice representative 116) using a display device (e.g., I/O device139). At 441, the remote computing system can update the new andexisting visitor profiles using action information that it obtainedabout individuals 115 in its monitored area. In various implementations,updating a new visitor profile includes creating or generating the newvisitor profile for the first time. At 445, the remote computing systemvan provides the updated visitor profiles to the central computingsystem.

FIG. 5 shows a flow block diagram illustrating an example of a process500 for updating image recognition processing information of a number ofremote computing systems (e.g., remote computing systems 109B and 109C)by a first client computing system (e.g., remote computing system 109A),in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At 501, the firstclient computing system can provide a new visitor profile or an updatedvisitor profile to a central computing system (e.g., central computingsystem 105). For example, the first client computing system can uploadthe new or updated visitor profile to the central computing system overa network (e.g., network 119), such as the Internet. As noted above, thenew visitor profile can include a newly generated profile and associatedinformation obtained by the first remote computing system. The updatedvisitor profiles can include the existing visitor profiles that have newinformation added to them by the first client computing system.

At 505, the first client computing system can determine whether itreceived an update conformation from central computing system inresponse providing the new or updated visitor profile at 501. If not(e.g., 505 is “No”), then the process 500 may iteratively return to 501.In some cases, mitigation can be initiated after several (e.g., 3)failures to receive an update confirmation. If so (e.g., 505 is “Yes”),then the process 500 may proceed to 509. At 509, the first clientcomputing system can provide a synchronization trigger to the otherclient computing systems (e.g., remote computing systems 109B and 109C).For example, the synchronization trigger can be an electronic messagedirected to or broadcast to each of the client computing systems linkedto the central computing system. In some implementations, the firstclient computing system can send the synchronization trigger directly tothe other client computing systems. In some implementations, the firstclient computing system can send the synchronization trigger to thecentral computing system, from which the synchronization trigger can bepushed or pulled by the other client computing systems. For example, thecentral computing system can push the synchronization message atpredetermined periodic time period, such as every four hours, everyeight hours, or every 24 hours. Also, the client computing systems canpull the synchronization message from the central computing system atthe periodic time periods.

In response to the synchronization trigger, the respective local visitorprofile databases (e.g., local profile databases 135) of the otherclient computing systems can be updated with the new and updated visitorprofile provided at 501. For example, the central computing system maydistribute, transmit, download or otherwise provide copies of the newupdated visitor profiles to the client computer systems for storage intheir local profile databases 137. After obtaining the new or updatedvisitor profile, the other client computing systems can provide updateconfirmations to the first client computing system, either directly orthrough the central computing system. At 513, the first client computingsystem can determine whether it has received update confirmations fromall the other client computing systems. If not (e.g., 513 is “No”), thenthe process 500 may iteratively return to 509. In some cases, mitigationcan be undertaken after several (e.g., 3) failures to receive an updateconfirmation at 513. If so (e.g., 509 is “Yes”), then the process 500may end.

FIG. 6 shows a swim-lane flow diagram illustrating an example of aprocess 600 for efficiently updating profiles including imagerecognition information among a number of remote computing systems(e.g., remote computing systems 109), in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure. As previously detailed herein, the remote computingsystems can be operatively and communicatively coupled to a centralcomputing system (e.g., central computing system 105) via one morecommunication links (e.g., communication links 117) and networks (e.g.,network 1). As illustrated in FIG. 6, at 613, remote computing systems109A can perform facial recognition of individuals (e.g., individuals115A1 . . . 115A3) in its respective areas (e.g., area 111A). At 617,the remote computing system 109A identifies the individuals of 613 usingthe visitor profiles (e.g., attempt of find previously stored identityinformation that corresponds to the facial recognition information in avisitor profile). At 621, the remote computing system 109A can identify,categorize, or otherwise determine unknown visitors as those individualslacking an existing visitor profile in the local profile database and/orfor which facial recognition was unsuccessful. At 625 the remotecomputing system 109A can create new profiles for the unknown visitorsidentified at 621. At 629 the remote computing system 109A can obtainpersonalized information for the known visitors from, for example, thecentral computing system 105 or another source. At 631 the one or moreremote computing system can update the existing and new visitor profilesbased on the actions and interactions performed by the individuals inthe respective areas. At 635, the remote computing system 109A provides(e.g., uploads) the new and updated profiles to central computing system105.

At 637, the central computing system 105 receives the new and updatedprofiles from the remote computing system 109A. At 639, the centralcomputing system 105 updates its central profile database (e.g., centralprofile database 125) with the new updated profile received at 637. At641, the central computing system 641 can provide a confirmation to theremote computing system 109 confirming that the central computing 641received the new and updated provides at 637 and updated the profiledatabase.

At 643, the remote computing system 109A can receive and check theconfirmation sent by the central computing system 105 at 641. At 645 theremote computing system 109A, in response to checking the receivedconfirmation at 643, can provide a synchronization trigger to otherremote computing systems 109B and 109C.

At 647, the other remote computing systems 109B and 109C can receive thesynchronization trigger sent by the remote computing system 109A at 645.At 649, in response to receiving the synchronization trigger at 647, theremote computing systems 109B and 109C can update their local profiledatabases (e.g., local profile databases 135). In some implementations,the remote computing systems 109B and 109C can obtain (e.g., request ordownload) the new and update visitor profiles form the central computingsystem 105. In some implementations, the central computing system 105can distribute, provide access to, or send some or all of the updatedprofiles stored at 643 to the remote computing systems 109B and 109C. Insome implementations, the central computing system 105 may alsodistribute un-updated profiles with the updated profiles; e.g., maydistribute copies of all of its visitor profiles together.

At 651, the remote computing systems 109B and 109C can provide aconfirmations to the remote computing system 109A confirming that theyreceived the new and updated provides at 637 and updated their visitorprofile databases at 649. In some implementations, the confirmationssent at 649 can be sent directly to the remote computing system 109A. Insome implementations, the confirmations sent at 649 can be sentindirectly to the remote computing system 109A through the centralcomputing system 105. At 655, the remote computing system 109A canreceive and check the confirmation provided by the remote computingsystems 109A and 109B at 651. If the check at 655 determines that allthe confirmations have been received from all the remote computingsystems 109B and 109C, the process 600 ends. [0042.] The presentdisclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodimentsdescribed in this application, which are intended as illustrations ofvarious aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made withoutdeparting from its scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in theart. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope ofthe disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparentto those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Suchmodifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope ofthe appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by theterms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalentsto which such claims are entitled. It is also to be understood that theterminology used herein is for the purpose of describing examples ofimplementations, and is not intended to be limiting.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one”or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articlesused to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specificnumber of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should beinterpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the barerecitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at leasttwo recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in thoseinstances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C,etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the senseone having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “asystem having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not belimited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and Ctogether, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a constructionis intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understandthe convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” wouldinclude but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, Calone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A,B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those withinthe art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting twoor more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, ordrawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities ofincluding one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. Forexample, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include thepossibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.” In addition, where features oraspects of the disclosure are described in terms of Markush groups,those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is alsothereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup ofmembers of the Markush group.

What we claim is:
 1. A system for enhancing customer service, the systemcomprising: a first client computing system comprising: one or moreimage sensors; a local visitor profile database; one or moreinput/output devices; a processor that is operably connected to the oneor more image sensors, the local visitor profile database, and the oneor more input/output devices; and a computer-readable data storagedevice, operably connected to the processor and storing programinstructions that, when executed by the processor, control the system toperform operations comprising: detecting a plurality of individuals at afirst location of a plurality of remote locations using the one or moreimage sensors; performing facial recognition on the plurality ofindividuals using existing visitor profiles stored by the local visitorprofile database; determining, based on the facial recognition, knownvisitors and unknown visitors among the plurality of individuals;generating new visitor profiles for the unknown visitors, whereingenerating the new visitor profiles comprises capturing unique facialfeatures of the unknown visitors based on the facial recognition andstoring the unique facial features of each unknown visitor inassociation with a temporary visitor identification, wherein thetemporary visitor identification comprises an alphabetic code, a numericcode, or an alphanumeric code; obtaining identity information for theunknown visitors using the one or more input/output devices; associatingthe identity information of the unknown visitors with the new visitorprofiles; accessing identity information of the known visitors based onthe existing visitor profiles stored by the local visitor profiledatabase; obtaining personalized information for the known visitors froma central profile database of a central computing system based on theidentity information of the known visitors; providing the personalizedinformation to the known visitors using the one or more input/outputdevices; updating the existing visitor profiles and the new visitorprofiles based on actions of the known visitors in the area and actionsof the unknown visitors in the area, wherein the identity informationfor the unknown visitors is combined with the unique facial features andthe temporary visitor identification of each of the unknown visitors toupdate the new visitor profiles, and wherein the actions compriseentering a retail location with a package and leaving the packageunattended in the retail location; and providing the updated visitorprofiles to the central computing system, wherein the central computingsystem is configured to provide the updated visitor profiles to a secondclient computing system at a second location.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the existing visitor profiles comprise facial recognitioninformation representing unique facial features.
 3. The system of claim1, wherein the existing visitor profiles and the new visitor profilescomprise individual account information and demographic information. 4.The system of claim 1, wherein: the plurality of remote locations arecustomer service centers; the one or more input/output device include acomputer-user interface for a customer service representative at thefirst location; and providing the personalized information comprisesdisplaying the personalized information to the known visitors.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein detecting the plurality of individualscomprises passively capturing images of the plurality of individualsusing the one or more image sensors.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinthe operations further comprise: providing a synchronization trigger tothe second client computing system; and determining that a local profiledatabase of the second client computing system has been updated with theupdated visitor profiles in response to the synchronization trigger. 7.A method, implemented using a computer, for enhancing customer service,the method comprising: monitoring a predefined area using one or moreimage sensors of a first client computing system; detecting a pluralityof individuals within the predefined area using the one or more imagesensors; identifying known visitors among the plurality of individualsusing facial recognition based on existing visitor profiles stored by alocal visitor profile database of the first client computing system;identifying unknown visitors among the plurality of individuals usingthe facial recognition based on an absence of any corresponding visitorprofile stored by the local visitor profile database; generating newvisitor profiles for the unknown visitors, wherein generating the newvisitor profiles comprises capturing unique facial features of theunknown visitors based on the facial recognition and storing the uniquefacial features of each unknown visitor in association with a temporaryvisitor identification, wherein the temporary visitor identificationcomprises an alphabetic code, a numeric code, or an alphanumeric code;obtaining identity information of the unknown visitors using aninput/output device of the first client computing system; updating thenew visitor profiles by associating the identity information of theunknown visitors with the unique facial features of the unknownvisitors; obtaining personalized information for the known visitors froma central profile database of a central computing system based on theidentity information of the known visitors; providing the personalizedinformation to the known visitors using the input/output device;creating updated visitor profiles by updating the existing visitorprofiles and the new visitor profiles based on actions of the knownvisitors in the predefined area and the unknown visitors in thepredefined area, wherein the identity information for the unknownvisitors is combined with the unique facial features and the temporaryvisitor identification of each of the unknown visitors to update the newvisitor profiles, and wherein the actions comprise entering a retaillocation with a package and leaving the package unattended in the retaillocation; and providing the updated visitor profiles to the centralcomputing system, wherein the central computing system is configured toprovide the updated visitor profiles to a second client computing systemat a second predefined area.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein: thepredefined area is in a customer service center; the input/output deviceis a customer service representative computer; and providing thepersonalized information comprises displaying information from theexisting visitor profiles using the customer service representativecomputer.
 9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: providing asynchronization trigger to the second client computing system; anddetermining that a local profile database of the second client computingsystem has been updated with the updated visitor profiles in response tothe synchronization trigger.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein theidentity information comprises names, addresses, credit cardinformation, or a combination thereof for the known visitors, whereinthe central computing system is configured to look up the personalizedinformation for the known visitors based on the identity information ofthe known visitors, and wherein the personalized information comprisesaccount history information of the known users, purchase historyinformation of the known users, credit information of the known users,or a combination thereof.
 11. The system of claim 1, further comprisingreceiving, at the first client computing system, personalizedinformation for the known visitors based on the identity information forthe known visitors, wherein the personalized information is obtainedfrom a credit tracking service, a criminal record service, or acombination thereof.
 12. A system for enhancing customer service, thesystem comprising: a plurality of client computing systems at locationsseparate from each other, the plurality of client computing systemscomprising: one or more image sensors; facial recognition systems;input/output devices; and local visitor profile databases; and a centralcomputing system communicatively linked to the plurality of clientcomputing systems and comprising a central profile database; wherein afirst client computing system of the plurality of client computingsystems at a first location is configured to perform operationscomprising: detecting individuals at the first location; performingfacial recognition on the individuals using existing visitor profileslocally stored at the first client computing system; determining knownvisitors and unknown visitors using the facial recognition systems;determining identity information of the known visitors based on theexisting visitor profiles locally stored at the first client computingsystem; receiving personalized information for the known visitors basedon the identity information for the known visitors, wherein thepersonalized information is obtained from a credit tracking service, acriminal record service, or a combination thereof; generating newvisitor profiles in the local visitor profile database of the firstclient computing system for the unknown visitors, wherein generating thenew visitor profiles comprises capturing unique facial features of theunknown visitors based on the facial recognition and storing the uniquefacial features of each unknown visitor in association with a temporaryvisitor identification; obtaining identity information of the unknownvisitors at the first location using the input/output devices; updatingthe new visitor profiles in the local visitor profile database of thefirst client computing system by associating the identity information ofthe unknown visitors with the unique facial features of the unknownvisitors; creating updated visitor profiles by updating the existingvisitor profiles and new visitor profiles based on actions of theindividuals at the first location, wherein the actions comprise enteringa retail location with a package and leaving the package unattended inthe retail location; and providing the updated visitor profiles from thefirst client computing system to the central computing system; andwherein the central computing system is configured to perform operationscomprising: receiving the updated visitor profiles from the first clientcomputing system, the updated visitor profiles including the existingvisitor profiles and new visitor profiles; updating the central profiledatabase with the updated visitor profiles; and updating a local visitorprofile database of a second client computing system of the plurality ofclient computing systems at a second location with the updated visitorprofiles of the central profile database.
 13. The system of claim 12,wherein the existing visitor profiles and the new visitor profilescomprise facial recognition information.
 14. The system of claim 12,wherein the existing visitor profiles and the new visitor profilescomprise demographic information.
 15. The system of claim 12, whereinthe existing visitor profiles and the new visitor profiles compriseindividual account information.
 16. The system of claim 12, furthercomprising: providing, by the central computing system, personalizedinformation to the first client computing system; and displaying, by thefirst client computing system, the personalized information at acomputer-user interface of a customer service representative.
 17. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the facial recognition is performedindependently by each of the plurality of client computing systems. 18.The system of claim 17, wherein the facial recognition is performedusing existing visitor profiles solely stored at the respective localprofile databases of the plurality of client computing systems.
 19. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the temporary visitor identificationcomprises a code.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the temporaryvisitor identification comprises an alphabetic code, a numeric code, oran alphanumeric code.
 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the temporaryvisitor identification is used until the identity information for theunknown visitors is obtained.
 22. The system of claim 20, wherein theidentity information for the unknown visitors is combined with theunique facial features and the temporary visitor identification of eachof the unknown visitors to update the new visitor profiles.